After brain injury, 10 years of rehabilitation, Tolliver gives back to community

After 10 years of rehabilitation, Tolliver gives back to community

By LINDA HALLStaff WriterPublished: November 21, 2012 4:00AM

WOOSTER -- Even when her memory flagged, her determination to get her life back never did.

Pamela Denise Tolliver, who has lived in Wooster since 1999, made a remarkable comeback from a devastating December 1994 car crash. It resulted in a traumatic brain injury that left her with the task of relearning how to walk, talk and even think clearly. As she made her way back to a full life, she readjusted her career path.

"It took me a good 10 years to feel like myself," Tolliver said.

Tolliver, now 51, was on her way to getting a master of science degree in training and development at the University of Akron when a collision knocked her off course.

"I was hit so hard (by another vehicle)," she said, her car was totalled and "knocked all the way up Perkins" from the corner of Perkins Street and Union Street in Akron. "I had nowhere to go (to get out of the way of the oncoming vehicle) or I would have hit someone dead-on," perhaps ending up paralyzed or even killed.

"It was a frontal lobe injury, affecting higher, advanced thinking skills," said Tolliver, who underwent extensive brain injury rehabilitation at Edwin Shaw Hospital. "The biggest fear was I was going to have seizures.

"I had to go back and live with my parents," she said, recalling "massive headaches for so long ... and double vision."

A self-described Type A personality, Tolliver returned to school as a graduate assistant just two months after the crash, but only with special accessibility provisions, such as open book tests.

Working against all of the consequences of her injuries, Tolliver forged ahead, getting a job between 1998-2001 at Wayne County Job and Family Services as an eligibility and referral specialist.

Because of the extensive case load, "I was having difficulty," she said. "It was too hard for me to keep focused. It was too stressful at the time for me to continue with that."

She began working with the Brain Injury Association of Ohio, giving presentations and working with caregivers of people, most of whom were residing in nursing homes.

By 2012, Tolliver was working full-time at Midwest Health Services of Wayne County and is proud to have earned an ACE award "for going above and beyond (required duties)."

"I do work with Trinity Home Care and Assisted Living," she said, "sit(ting) with individuals and just talk(ing) to them.

"It makes me happy ... working with the disabled and the elderly," said Tolliver, who in addition to volunteering her time at West View Manor, does the same at the Wayne County Care Center and Smithville-Western Care Center. She also is part of St. Mary's social justice commission and has connections to other churches outside her own.

Additionally, Tolliver is in training to be a volunteer guardian ad litem with the Wayne County Common Pleas Court.

"I just really enjoy all of that," she said.

For the scope of her recovery -- from physical to occupational -- "I can't thank God enough," Tolliver said. "God gave me a second chance. I was just so fortunate."

Tolliver also is grateful to her family, who "stuck with me through thick and thin. We've always been very close. That helped me get through it."

Her father "stressed education and work ethic are keys to life," she said, encouraging her that "as long as you do that, you will never fall short of your dreams."

Last, but certainly not least, "I really love this community," for being family-oriented and generating "so many services to help you; there is always someone to help you."

Tolliver acknowledged there were "points when I felt like, God, please help me. I know you will help me.

"I never gave up; I just kept pushing."

While it remains "a chore for me to get up," she said, demanding a routine of prayer, exercise and preparation with the right mindset, "I never take my problems into work."

She is known as "happy Pam," who "never sit(s) down."

Sue Grimwood, Tolliver's supervisor at Trinity, called her "very reliable and conscientious. She is very happy-go-lucky."

"For all she has been through, she doesn't let it get her down," Grimwood said.

"I just feel so thankful to God to be here to tell my story," Tolliver said.

Reporter Linda Hall can be reached at 330-264-1125, Ext. 2230, or lhall@the-daily-record.com.